1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lightweight armor lining for use in protecting objects such as marine vessels, helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and the like. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a lightweight, multilayer armor in the form of a sheet that can be formed to an outer surface of vessels, or like craft, and having a weight as low as six-eight (6-8) pounds per square foot of surface area, yet still withstand substantial arms fire including Class 1-Class 5 threats.
In a heavier embodiment Class 6 threats (e.g. U.S. .50 caliber machine gun and Soviet 12.7 mm machine gun can be stopped.
2. General Background
In the protection of our coastline and port cities against illegal drug trafficking and customs violators, various craft are used for patrolling the waterfront, and if necessary for chasing villans. These vessels are often relatively small vessels, used for their speed and relative economy. In the construction of such marine vessels, as with pursuit air craft, weight is a critical factor. Lightweight vessels, having maximized horsepower, achieve higher speeds.
Unfortunately, drug traffickers, smugglers, pirates and like characters are sometimes similarly equipped. Not only do such criminals have fast vessels they are usually well armed. The prospect of all or nothing, riches or prison, drives the criminal to carry ever more sophisticated weapons in achieving the illicit goal. Machine guns, high powered rifles, and the like are facing law enforcement personnel when they attempt to chase a suspect vessel.
Many enforcement vessels use sophisticated, but highly vulnerable electronic equipment. Some vessels use computers as part of the operational heart of the vessel so that a well placed shot can render the vessel dead in the water. Protection of personnel and explosive munitions is a problem on small enforcement vessels as small arms fire can hit either during a confrontation.
Various methods of armor plating have commonly been used by the marine industry in constructing warships. Thick steel plating is a most common solution to the protection problem. While this solution is valuable and acceptable on large "battlewagons" such as aircraft carriers, battleships, and the like it is not always a viable alternative for swift lightweight pursuit type patrol boats.
Personnel have often been protected with bullet proof clothing such as vests, some made of a flexible fabric material. Some flexible protective clothing is layered, using fabric, foam, metal, metal mesh, and/or a mesh of plastic or polymer material. Many of these forms of protective clothing have been patented.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,281 entitled "Composite Flexible Armor" shows multiple layers of material as part of an armor construction which is flexible.
The McArdle U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,038 entitled "Fragment Suppression Configuration" provides a protective system that includes a blanket portion composed of at least two layers of ballistic nylon felt interposed with an inner lamination or ply and enclosed with a ballistic nylon cloth envelope. A prime protective surface or layer composed of ceramic or tile assembly incorporates a plurality of individual slightly spaced tiles each mounted with its faceside boned to an overlapping double layer glass cloth and its rearside covered with a separate metal backplate which is bonded with the metal backplate side and overlapping portions of the glass cloth against the faceside of the blanket.
An armored skin-diving suit is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,569 issued to Sullivan. The device provides a flexible garment portion with a plurality of armor elements spaced at intervals thereon.
Vests are commonly constructed of material having projectile stopping capabilities. An example of a bullet proof vest is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,020 issued to Dunn entitled "Projectile Proof Vest". The device includes a network of inner shock resistant plates lying under a layer of ballistic material to minimize the force imparted by a slowing projectile upon the wearer of the vest.
An example of metal armor is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,266 entitled "Composite Armor Plating" issued to Huet and assigned to Aluminum Company of America. The device provides a composite metal armor comprising ceramic inserts arranged in a regular manner within a metal casing.
The Brandt U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,528 entitled "Bullet Affecting/Deflecting Material" provides a plate adapted to form a device for protecting the human body or the like which has one surface formed in a plane at an angle with respect to the plane of the opposing surface. Pairs of such plates with angle surfaces abutt and can be enclosed in pockets formed in a flexible material to provide a sheet of protective material. A plurality of pairs of the plate can be arranged in overlapping pockets in rows and columns to form a protective vest or coat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,756 issued to Rudoi entitled "Bullet Proof Armor Shield" provides a shield construction that includes a composite layering of ceramic-like armor plate and layers of nylon-like cloth which provides a degree of ballistic resistance and relatively lightweight. The construction is characterized by an elongated armor component having an outer housing having a generally trapezoidal or parallelogram cross-section taken along a plane normal to the longest dimension.
Another patent which discloses a bullet proof vest is shown in the Fritch U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,223 entitled "Protective Body Armor". In that patent, multiple panels are assembled to provide front and back body armor inserts to be worn under regular clothing. Each panel consist of a ply of titanium metal bonded to a ply of aramid fiber woven cloth. The panels are arranged in overlapping and in abutting relationship but are not joined to one another except by way of overlying and underlying felted material plies. This provides an insert that is capable of some degree of flexing and adjustment on the body of the wearer. Backup strip panels protect the wearer along abutting zones of the main panels.